


Fear and the Absence of it

by PressureChief



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/M, Fear, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:35:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28663284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PressureChief/pseuds/PressureChief
Summary: Makoto and Ren start their newfound relationship but Makoto has some second thoughts on their situation with a certain club host.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Kurusu Akira/Niijima Makoto, Niijima Makoto/Persona 5 Protagonist
Kudos: 63





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fanfic ever! Please enjoy!

“I’ll be your study partner.” 

As soon as the words left Ren’s mouth he regretted putting his feelings behind such a cheesy line. As he looked at Makoto sitting next to him at Crossroads, he saw her face flushing. She looked at him as a second of tension weighed in the air. Finally she opened her mouth to speak.

“U-um, I’m not too well-versed in these matters, so allow me to confirm this…” she explained. Makoto stayed in that position, not talking, not moving for a couple seconds, but what felt like days to Ren, waiting in anticipation for what his crush would say next. “Do you… like me?” She asked.

On the outside Ren was calm and relaxed as a fearless leader of a group like the Phantom Thieves should be, but on the inside he was screaming and freaking out that anything he could say could be perceived the wrong way or he could mess this up. He liked Makoto too much. ‘I won’t mess this up. 

Ren took a deep breath before finally saying, “I do.” 

“O-oh. Um.. You really mean it right?” Makoto said as she tucked her hair behind her ear. “Well then, if it’s alright with you… let’s start dating, for real this time.” 

Those words alone sent Ren into a state of bliss and happiness that he had never felt before. Finally he could relax with the knowledge that the girl he liked liked him back.  
They eventually left the bar of Crossroads and headed out into the busy street of Shinjuku. Ren thought that he should propose something that might get him killed by the very woman next to him. 

“So Makoto, now that we’re dating, is it ok if we held hands?” Ren asked. He looked towards Makoto who had a slight blush to her face. He stretched his hand towards her. She looked down at his hand and then at his face.

“W-Well I suppose that is something people who date do.. so..” she trailed off as she looked down at the ground in front of her. Makoto then grabbed the hand that Ren offered her. She looked up at him and gave him a nervous smile. ‘Oh my god I’m the luckiest man ever.’ 

———-

Makoto could not believe that after months of trying to broaden her horizons and spending time with Ren she finally was able to work up the courage to ask him about the state of their relationship. Not only was she able to do that but she was also able to start their relationship as a couple. However the one thing she couldn’t believe was that he was holding her hand and they were walking down the Red Light District as a couple. She looked up at Ren who had a childish grin on his face and then back down to their connected hands. She looked around the district to see if anyone was staring, and her eyes fell on the After School Salon.

Makoto remembered what Tsukasa said to them not too long ago in front of that shop. He mentioned that he had muscle backing him up, and that he wasn’t afraid to rough a couple teenagers up. This thought made Makoto a little anxious, would Tsukasa really send his goons after them, or worse, Eiko? She suddenly felt Ren squeeze her hand. 

“Is there something on your mind?” Ren questioned, looking at her. “Besides me of course.” A coy grin lit up his face while she felt her cheeks warm up.

“W-Well yes actually..” she stated, not wanting to worry Ren, if anything he was perceptive. “You remember how Tsukasa said he had muscle behind him? I was wondering if he might have sent some after us, or after Eiko.” 

“Hmm. I don’t think he would go that far. He’s just a club host, but I can walk you home if it helps.” Ren looked at her with a kind smile. Makoto felt a sudden wave of emotions. She was distracted from her current train of thought because of that. Never in her life had she had someone walk her home before, but felt that was also a common thing that couples do. She also didn’t want Ren to go out of his way to walk her home, she didn’t want to be a burden to him, but she couldn’t shake the unnerving feeling that was permeating throughout her body right now. 

“That would be great Ren. Thank you.” She earnestly replied. The boy standing next to her had made her so happy in the past few months, from accepting her into the Phantom Thieves, to helping her with Eiko’s situation, he always put others before himself. As they walked towards the station in Shinjuku, Makoto looked at Ren who appeared to be in thought. 

As they got on the train they luckily found two neighboring seats. An automated voice in the train announced: “A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for this area. This may delay some trains.” This was something Makoto hadn’t really planned for ‘A thunderstorm? I should proba-’

“I was wondering.” Ren said, shaking her out of her thoughts. “Did you like me back when you were following us and trying to get info on the Phantom Thieves?” He looked at her with a mischievous grin. She felt her face flush as she looked away.

“I was doing that solely for investigative purposes I’ll have you know.” ‘Yes, that may have been a small reason.’ She didn’t want to inflate his ego more than she already had that day. “What about you? When did you start uhm.. liking me?” 

Ren stared at her. She felt her face getting hotter and hotter the longer he stared at her and the longer the silence between them lasted. 

“Probably when I worked up the courage to talk to you one of the days when you were following me. You were pretty cute hiding behind that manga.” He finally answered. Makoto knew that her face must have been bright red now. His teasing was endless, this boy was gonna be the death of her. Being the competitive perfectionist she was, she wanted to tease him more than he was her. Even her romantically uneducated mind knew that there was at least one move that would put her debonair leader in his place.

“I-I still can’t believe you said hi to me everyday.” she replied as she turned her face away from Ren’s gaze. “You must have known that would get on my nerves.” She felt him squeeze his hand. 

“And yet you still followed me. Shujin’s student council prez really cares about her students, well one student at least.” Ren said as he lifted their joined hands. 

“Y-yes. A special student. He’s very nice and he loves to kid around. Some would say he’s a Joker.” Makoto replied as she busted out her secret move, she rested her head on his shoulder. She looked up and saw her partner blushing profusely. ‘I win.’ 

They sat like that until they reached her station. When they reached the exit of the station they noticed it was raining. The dark clouds blocking the evening sky. Ren looked into his bag, and sighed.

“Damn, I forgot my umbrella.” he groaned. 

“Oh the leader of the “infamous phantom thieves” forgot his umbrella did he?” Makoto teased as she looked through her bag, she pulled out a pink umbrella. “Lucky for you I brought mine.”  
She handed it to Ren, and he opened the canopy over their heads.

They walked closely together, arms brushing as they moved down the street towards Makoto’s apartment complex. A distant rumble of thunder reverberated behind them, reminding her of what her most important memories of storms held. The thought scared her and she instinctively wrapped her hands around Ren’s arm and pulled herself closer to him. 

“Hey, you alright?.” He asked, looking down at her. A worried expression on his face. “It’s okay, I’m here.” He put his other hand on top of one of hers which was gripping his arm. 

“Y-yeah, it’s just that, I’m a little afraid of thunderstorms. I have an unfortunate history with them.” She sheepishly replied. She clung tighter to his arm. 

“Oh. I remember when we first went to Boss’ house.” Ren reminisced. “Well, just like last time, I’m here for you.” With that reassurance, all of Makoto’s fears melted away. She smiled as they walked together, the soft sound of rain hitting their nylon shelter, and the feeling of a warm body next to hers. She wished that moment would've lasted forever, but soon enough they arrived at her apartment door. 

As she looked at the door in front of her, she remembered what happened on a similar night like this one 3 years ago. She let go of Ren. 

He shook Makoto's umbrella dry and closed it. "I guess this is your stop." He said as he offered her umbrella back. 

She grabbed the plastic handle but didn't take it. Her hand stayed grasped around the bottom of the umbrella while Ren's stayed at the top. ‘Please. Don't go.’ 

“Makoto? What’s wrong?” He asked. A thousand thoughts ran through her mind as he looked at her. She looked down, her hand started to shake a bit as she started to overthink Tsukasa’s words from a couple of hours ago. ‘What if he had someone follow us, what if he somehow has my address, or Ren’s address? What if he tries to get Sis?’ 

She felt the umbrella slip out of her shaking fingers, and felt two arms pull her into an embrace as she heard the sound of plastic hitting the ground. 

“Please, tell me what’s wrong. You’ve been worried about something all night.” Ren asked as he rubbed Makoto’s back. She felt tears sting as she closed her eyes. “Is it about Tsukasa?” She nodded against his chest as she felt her tears wet the cloth. “I may have a solution for that, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll protect you. Whatever thugs he sends after us, I’ll fight them, to keep you safe.” She looked up at him and nodded. Even though her tears were slightly blocking her vision she could tell that he was smiling at her. “Before we do all that, let's get you inside first.” 

“Y-yeah.” she said as she wiped the tears from her face. She pulled out her key and unlocked her door. She hesitated. ‘Wait, how am I gonna explain Ren to sis if she’s home?’ Makoto pushed that thought away and opened the door.  
______________

Ren walked into Makoto’s apartment expecting the glaring eyes of Sae Niijima. He was happy to see a distinct lack of said prosecutor. Having to explain why Shujins most infamous delinquent was hanging out with her little sister was not an interrogation he was ready for. 

Ren took off his shoes as Makoto flicked on the lights. He took note of how well kept the apartment was. The modern furniture adorning the kitchen and the adjacent living room being really clean. ‘Being a prosecutor must pay well.’ 

“We can talk on the couch.” Makoto said as she led Ren to the living room. They sat down next to each other. ‘I should probably comfort her.’ He put his arm around her and she leaned into him. “I’m scared. Really scared Ren. I’ve told you about how my father died right?” He felt her shudder. “It’s ok, I can talk about it.” She sighed. “The night he died, when the police told sis and I the news, the power went out because of a thunderstorm. Ever since then I’ve been terrified of the dark and storms.”

“I can tell that that’s not the only thing on your mind.” Ren said while he rubbed his hand over her arm.

“Y-yeah. Lately I’ve been wondering, what if what killed him wasn’t an accident, but a planned attack by the organization he was chasing after? And if they could do that to a trained police officer, then what's to stop them from doing that to me, or even worse, someone like Eiko?” Makoto shivered. Ren finalized his earlier idea. ‘If we can change the heart of some high school student, we can probably do the same for a club host.’ 

“I’ve been thinking, Tsukasa may be in Mementos.” Ren mentioned. He pulled out his phone. Makoto’s eyes lit up. “Did Eiko ever mention his full name?”

“I don’t remember. Also the name might have been fake.” She replied. “But we could try it anyway.” Ren nodded and opened the Metanav app.

“Tsukasa” He spoke into his phone. 

‘“No Candidate Found”’

“I thought so.” So there was nothing they could do, even with their powers as Phantom Thieves. Makoto stood up and walked towards the kitchen. “I’ll go make some tea for us.”

Ren stood up. “You don’t have to, I ca-” 

“I need to distract myself, and it may help calm my nerves.” Makoto interrupted.

“O-ok.” Ren sat back down. ‘If Tsukasa actually decides to do anything against us, I wonder what we could do to stop him.’ He heard the water running in the kitchen as he thought, his knee bouncing. ‘Wait, if he works with the yakuza, I think I could talk to Iwai abou-’

Suddenly an explosion of thunder shook the room, tearing Ren out of his thoughts. The lights went out. A terrified scream followed by a crashing sound from the kitchen made him get up. 

“Makoto!” He ran into the kitchen following the source of the noise. He heard Makoto whispering, and saw her faint form huddled in the corner. He rushed towards her, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his foot. “Gah!” He stumbled and knelt next to Makoto, grabbing her by her shoulders.

“Sishelpme,pleasesisIdontwannadiepleasehelpmesis...”

“Makoto. It’s ok I’m here.” Ren wrapped her in his arms. The pain in his foot was overwhelmed by the feeling of wanting to protect the girl in front of him. “Shh. It’s ok. I’ll protect you.”

She grabbed the sides of his shirt. Burying her face into his chest, she started to cry. The couple stayed in that position for a couple minutes, Ren comforting Makoto while she weeped into his chest, until he felt something warm and wet on both his chest and his foot. ‘Blood and tears. What’d I step on?’ He looked behind him in the dark kitchen and saw a bunch of shards of some sort of ceramic. He looked down at his foot and noticed a shallow cut that tore through his sock and some skin of the foot, there was some blood too seeing as how the area around it was darker than the fabric of the sock. ‘Ouch.’

Makoto sniffled and looked up. “I’m sorry, Ren. I’m sorry to dump all my problems on you.” She said. 

“Don’t apologize, you’ve been holding this in for so long. You need to let it out.” He replied. “You must be tired. Let’s get you to bed.” She nodded, and he helped her up. Taking a quick glance he saw the mess of the wrecked china and even a small trail of blood from his foot. As they moved he limped, which caused Makoto to look down at his foot. 

“Ren! Your foot!” She let go of him and moved towards one of the kitchen cabinets.

“It’s fine, don’t worry. You need rest.” He said as he grabbed her hand. 

“You got injured for my sake, at least let me help you.” She responded. He let go of her hand and she felt her way through the darkness. She came back holding a small metal box. “Let me see it.” They sat down and Ren moved his foot towards her. She held it, and took off the sock. 

“Thanks, Queen.” He said as she cleaned the wound. 

“Even outside of the Metaverse, I’m taking care of you. Joker.” She sighed. “I guess that’s the job I get as your advisor and your girlfriend.”

Ren’s face flushed at the mention of that word. Makoto said she was his girlfriend. ‘W-wait seriously?! My ears probably heard wrong.’

“W-What’d you say?” 

“Even outside of the Metaverse, I’m taking care of you?” 

“No, After that.” 

Makoto was peeling off the wrapper of a large band-aid as realization dawned on her face. 

“O-Oh, uh..” She looked down, and even in the darkness Ren could see the blush on her cheeks. She brushed some hair behind her ear. “Isn’t that what people who date are? Aren’t they boyfriend and girlfriend?” 

“Y-yeah.” He looked at her face. “I’m more than happy to be your boyfriend then Makoto.”

She looked up with flushed cheeks and gave a bashful smile. “Same..”  
..  
..  
They sat there for a second.  
..  
Makoto blushed. “I-I mean girlfriend, not boyfriend!” 

Ren chuckled as she applied the bandaid. He put his sock back on and they sat there for a while longer. 

“I should clean all this up.” Makoto said as she gestured to the shards of broken teacups and blood. 

“No, I can do that, can you get yourself to bed?” Ren said as he stood up. The storm outside still raged. Makoto nodded. She got to her feet and started walking to the hallway. She stopped and turned around. 

“Ren.. Can you stay with me for a little longer?” Noticing the implications of her words she corrected herself. “Just until the storm passes at least!” 

“Yeah, sure.” he nodded. “I just want to make sure you’re ok that’s all.” 

“O-Okay.” she disappeared into the hallway. 

Ren pulled out his phone and turned on the flashlight, bringing light back into the room. Shining the light on the mess in front of him he saw that Makoto was in the process of heating up the tea before the power went out. The kettle on the electric stove was warm to the touch. He put his phone down and went to work cleaning up. ‘Hopefully Iwai can do something about Tsukasa. He has connections with the yakuza, and maybe he can get that scum off the street. If only we had his full name and maybe we could do something more.’ He put the pile of shards he picked up into the trash. Grabbing a broom that was in a nearby closet he started sweeping the smaller pieces. ‘I should think about something better or else I’m gonna be up all night thinking of solutions. ‘

Ren dumped the smaller fragments of teacup into the trash, grabbing a rag by the sink, and wetting it. Bending down he saw how much blood there was on the floor, not a lot, but it was spread out. ‘Makoto was so scared, is this how she normally is with storms? No, it was probably because of the added stress of everything that happened today.’ Ren wrung out the rag and cleaned it. ‘If her sister came home to that mess and me in the apartment she would definitely kill me. She’s terrifying enough when she comes to Leblanc.’ Ren sighed and washed his hands. He went back to the living room and picked up their bags. Walking into the hallway he saw a door with a panda character sign on it. ‘Definitely Makoto’s.’ 

“Hey Makoto, can I come in? I’ve got your bag.” He said as he knocked on the door. 

“Y-Yes.” Her voice sounded muffled. 

Ren opened the door, seeing a neat and organized room, from what he could see in the dark, was decorated by a desk, bookcases and a bed. Makoto was laying on the bed, now in pajamas. Ren put down his stuff and put her bag next to the bed. 

“Is everything okay?” He said as he sat down next to her. She sat up, looking into his eyes. She then did something unexpected. She wrapped her arms around his waist. Pressing her head onto his shoulder as she did so.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I put all that stuff with Tsukasa on you, I’m sorry that you had to take care of me tonight, I’m sorry that you got hurt because of my clumsiness. I’m a burden. I’m sorry.” She cried into his shoulder, wetting his white shirt.

He put his arm around her and chuckled. “Makoto, In all the time I’ve known you, you’ve never been a burden. You’ve helped me and the rest of the thieves so much, if anything, we’re a burden on you. You do so much for so many people and don’t ask for much in return. That's why I like you.” He kissed the top of her head. “You’re one of the most important people in my life. You’ve made my life here so much better. From when you would follow me around with that manga, to when you awakened to your persona. Any moment I’m with you is one where I feel safe, where I feel home. I just hope I can make you feel safe too.”

“Y-You do. You do make me feel safe Ren.” She sighed and lifted her head up to match his gaze. Tears still falling on her cheeks. “I don’t know where I would be without you, I’m really glad I investigated you and found you.” Ren put his hand against her cheek, wiping her tears with his thumb. 

They moved their faces closer together, until their lips met. The feeling of electricity ran through both of their bodies from their touching lips all the way to their toes. Makoto’s tears fell on Ren’s cheeks. They parted, both sighing as they did so. 

Makoto put her head back on his shoulder and Ren moved his hand between them, grabbing hers on the way. They looked down at their linked hands. 

“Thank you Ren, for putting all my fears away. I can’t thank you enough for all that you’ve done for me.” she shifted her head closer to his, her hair touching his ear.

“No problem at all, my Queen.” He rubbed her thumb with his, drawing random shapes with it. 

“It’s really no issue if you stay with me? What about Morgana and Boss?” she asked.

“If Sojiro found out what I was doing, I’m pretty sure he’d give me the coffee and curry medal of honor or something.” he explained, she chuckled at that. “But, I’ll probably have to get Mona some sushi to make up for me staying out longer than usual.” 

The couple stayed like that for the rest of the stormy August night. 

_____________

Makoto woke up to the sound of someone breathing. Opening her eyes she saw a chest covered in a black T-shirt. She looked up and saw the face of Ren Amamiya, his eyes closed and his mouth slightly parted. She noticed that he had his arm around her waist which made her blush. ‘Even when he’s asleep he’s so caring.’ She pushed her head into his chest, and she was lulled back into sleep. 

When Makoto awoke again she felt someone running their hand up and down her back. Her eyes flitting open she saw Ren looking at her smiling. 

“Good morning. The storm passed.” he said with a coy smile. 

“Apparently it has.” she yawned. “Thanks for staying with me Ren.”

“Are you kidding me? That was the best sleep I’ve had in months.” he stated. She immediately blushed, only now realizing that they just slept together. The implications behind that alone were enough to send her heart into cardiac arrest. ‘Wait. What if Sis gets home while he’s still here? I should probably get him out of here before she does.’ 

She shook her head. ‘I don’t care what Sis thinks of me dating Ren. I don’t care what anyone thinks. I lo-’ She blushed even more at her own thoughts. 

“Makoto? What’s up?” Ren brushed her hair behind her ear. 

“Sorry, I was thinking.” she sighed. “I was wondering what my sister or the people at school would think about our relationship.” 

“I don’t care what our peers think, they think that I’m a serial killer.” he replied. 

‘Oh, Ren.’

“O-Oh.” she looked down. “And my sister?” 

“Now if she found out, she would probably strangle me without a second thought.” he half-joked.

Makoto chuckled at that. Her sister was very strict, and had a bit of a temperable attitude. Sae and her father often joked when they were younger about interrogating Makoto’s first boyfriend, but it didn’t seem like her older sister was joking. 

Ren pushed himself up. “Well, Sojiro is probably wondering where I went, so I should head out.”  
He got out of the bed and put on his white overshirt and picked up his bag. Makoto sat up too before realizing something. 

“Wait. You slept in jeans?” Makoto pointed at his legs. “Isn’t that uncomfortable?” 

“Not really. I sleep with my phone in my pocket all the time.” Ren patted his pocket. 

“Huh?!” Makoto gasped. 

Ren checked his phone. 

“Damn, 5 texts from people and 3 calls from the Leblanc phone. That's probably Morgana.” He sighed and walked back to the bed.

“Morgana knows how to use that old phone?”

“He also has spare change whenever I don’t have enough money for the train.” Ren said before noticing the glare from Makoto. “That was only once! I spent too much on ramen with Ryuji!” 

She shook her head. Ren took her hand in his and kissed the top of it. “I’ll text you when I get back.” She nodded, blushing at his romantic action. “Get some more sleep my queen, you deserve to sleep in once in a while.” 

With a silent closing of her door and the sound of the apartment door closing, he was suddenly gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to add another chapter to this one, (and maybe one or two more after that one) I had an idea after watching the Persona 5 anime to expand on the idea that Tsukasa had people behind him and what that could mean. I was super nervous trying to upload this, because I've never done something like this. I was also confused on what to tag. (and how to italicize, help.) Of course, criticism is always welcome and appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2

As Ren got back to the attic after working at Leblanc all day he opened his messaging app on his phone. He had two notifications.

_Makoto Niijima: Do you have plans?_

_Munehisa Iwai: Can you come by the shop tonight?_  
Ren typed his reply to Makoto.

_No, what’s up?_  
 _Makoto: There’s something I’d like to speak to you about._  
The typing icon bounced for a couple seconds.   
_Makoto: Can we meet at Leblanc?_  
 _Of course._

He then replied to Iwai.

_I was wondering if you could look into something for me._   
_Do you know anyone in the Tokyo underground who might work with club hosts?_   
_I’ll explain more when I come over tonight._   
_Iwai: I’ve got a couple leads._

Ren put his head in his hands. _I hope this works. For Makoto’s sake._

“What’s up?” A boyish voice pierced through the room. Interrupting Ren’s thoughts. Morgana was perched on the windowsill next to the mattress. 

“I’ve got a bit of a predicament.” Ren replied. “What if someone evil doesn’t have any distortions, or a shadow? What do we do when that happens?” 

Morgana put his paw near his chin, trying to mimic being in thought. 

“That’s simple! I would just change the heart of the people working with them so that no one gives them any power!” He proudly said, pushing his chest out. 

If Tsukasa really had people working under him, he could just find out their names and change their hearts. It was really unlikely that the club host would hurt people himself, seeing as he was scared off by a couple of highschoolers. 

“Maybe I should talk about that with Makoto when she comes over.” Ren noticed the cat grimacing at that. “What? You don’t like Makoto?” 

“It’s not that I don’t like her, I don’t like when it’s just you two alone, you guys are way too cheesy and romantic, it’s sickening.” The cat mimicked a gagging motion.

“We started dating last week dude.” Ren stood up at the comment. Morgana shook his head and moved to the window. 

“Can’t believe it took until last week for her to notice that with your constant flirting.” He pushed the window open. “I’m going to go see Futaba, keep it quiet please, I don’t want to hear you guys ‘studying’ from down the street.” The cat hopped into the Yongen-Jaya backstreets. Ren stood there blushing.

__________

Makoto was nervous. Her stomach was doing backflips as she sat on the couch in Leblanc’s attic with Ren. She wanted to try something after their talk. Something that she wasn’t quite sure to put into words. Something in her heart felt different. She was sitting next to her very handsome and charming boyfriend, alone. 

“U-Um.” She stuttered.

“Do you want to study?” Ren asked. She nodded.

“Well… Maybe we could study some things we don’t quite have experience in yet.” she blushed and looked into his eyes. “Can you help me with that ‘study partner’?” Ren had a surprised look on his face, before forming his mouth into a smile and taking off his glasses. 

“Gladly.” he brushed Makoto’s cheek with his hand and moved his face closer. 

As soon as their lips touched she felt all her nerves go numb. The feeling of her lips against his was a wonderful feeling that was somehow even better than their last kiss. As she pushed her tongue through their connected mouths she could taste the bitter aftertaste of coffee. She gripped the front of his shirt to pull herself closer to him. Ren leaned back and let her take charge, resting his elbows on the couch as she leaned forward. Their tongues tangled and her leg moved over his lap, she was almost straddling him. As their kiss grew in intensity she could almost feel- 

_PI PI PI_

A sharp beeping erupted throughout the attic, and she felt something vibrating against her inner thigh. The sound interrupted the couple, and they separated. Ren held an apologetic look as he fished into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Their breath was heavy as he checked his phone. 

“Who is it?” She sighed. Disappointed that their moment was interrupted she moved back to her previous position on the couch, sitting upright. His eyes brightened as he read what was on the screen. 

“Iwai.” He replied. “He has a lead on Tsukasa.” Her eyes widened. 

“The gun store owner?” She questioned. “Why did you ask him about Tsukasa?”  
“Because he’s ex-yakuza.” Makoto got excited. _Ren knows someone from the yakuza? Maybe he can introd-_ She stopped that thought before she could finish it. 

“What’d he find?” She excitedly asked.

“Well he wants to meet me at his store.” He stood up. Offering her a hand he grinned. “You want to come with?” 

Makoto took his hand and had a smile that matched his.

__________

As they entered Untouchable, Makoto looked around and saw a lot of guns and military merchandise. There was a lot to pick up on, but immediately she noticed the wall of revolvers. She noticed the current revolver that she held in the metaverse along with a lot of others.

Ren placed a hand on her back and whispered in her ear. “I’m gonna go get Iwai, find something you like.”

The feeling of his breath against her ear left her standing there for a couple moments. She shook her head and looked at the wall of guns in front of her. She found two guns that piqued her interest, one was an old west style revolver with an octagonal barrel and a brass trigger guard. The dark wood of the handle went nicely with the dark barrel and cartridge, the bright brass contrasting nicely with the dark colors. 

The other gun was one with a round silver barrel, and a black leather grip, but it was iconic. She remembered seeing it in a bunch of movies and shows growing up. Whether it was cowboys or cops carrying it, this gun made sure of one thing. Peace. 

She picked up the dark revolver in her left and the silver one in her right, she could almost feel them in her hands through their boxes. 

“Makoto!” Ren called for her. “Iwai, I want you to meet my girlfriend and advisor.” As she walked over with the boxes, she blushed at her titles.

“Really, Ren.” she shook her head. “You’re louder than Ryuji sometimes when it comes to stuff like this.” As she reached the counter she looked at the man across from her, with a tall stature, gray hair, intimidating stare and his dark clothing, Munehisa Iwai looked like he was straight out of her favorite yakuza movies. 

“Whatever she is, she’s got good taste.” Iwai’s gruff voice made her blush. “Lady those are two amazing revolvers.” He gestured to the boxes she was holding. “The one in your left is a Remington 1858 revolver. You may have seen them in old west shows. This one offers perfect balance, and precise aim. It’s a bit more of a challenge to reload then the one in your right hand, The Colt single action army. This is also a popular cowboy gun but it also saw service with cops and the military over in America. Some people say it’s the greatest handgun ever made. I don’t know why they'd say that when the Colt 1911 exists.”

The couple stared, dumbfounded at the store owner. Neither of them were well educated on guns. They only cared how realistic the model guns were so they could be better used in the Metaverse. 

“O-Oh. Uh thanks.” She added. Barely able to process the information Iwai had just given her. She put the revolvers on the counter. “I think I like the Remington, I think that’s what you called it. It has this very intimidating look to it.”

Iwai nodded and ringed up her purchase. As Makoto reached for her wallet in her bag, Ren put a hand on her shoulder. 

“I’ve got it.” He held his wallet in his other hand. “You deserve something nice.” 

“Oh I understand.” Makoto put her hand to her chin. “Now that we’re dating, you want to spoil me?” 

“I’ve always been spoiling you Mako.” He grinned before pulling out the proper bills to pay for the model gun. She blushed at her new nickname. No one had ever given her sweet and silly nicknames like ‘Miss Prez’ or ‘Queen’ before she joined the Phantom Thieves. Not since her Dad.

“M-Mako?” She put her hand in front of face to hide her blush, which Iwai let out a chuckle at. As he passed the gun to her (which was in a suspicious paper bag for some reason) Ren cleared his throat. 

“Anyway, so you said you have some info on Tsukasa?” He asked. Makoto was reminded of their situation. 

“Yeah, I’m meeting up with an old buddy of mine from our days in the underworld pretty soon, he’s got a bunch of names of people who might work with that rotten host.” Iwai shook his head, tilting his cap down. “Pisses me off.” 

Makoto felt reassured. They were actually getting somewhere with their case. They might be able to stop Tsukasa in his tracks.

“All we need is the full name of someone who might work with him. That’s all.” Ren added. Iwai nodded as the door to the store opened and a heavy set man with glasses walked in. 

“Here’s one of my regulars, I’ll get in contact with you guys when I get the info, thanks for coming.” He waved them off. “And lady, take good care of that Remington, I’m sure it will scare the piss out of anyone.”

Makoto gave a half hearted chuckle as she walked out with Ren. While Iwai wasn’t exactly what she was expecting, he was still intimidating. _Kinda in a hot way._ She flustered at that thought, walking out of the backstreet.

“Alright, where to next?” She looked around the busy city. Looking down the street, she saw a familiar building “Arcade?” 

“You’re getting a good handle of this ‘broadening your horizons’ thing.” Ren took her hand in his and they took off towards the arcade. Normally an action like this would make her blush, but instead it made her feel calm and safe. 

“Well I had a good study partner.” Makoto squeezed his hand, looking up she saw a slight blush on her face. Most times he was the one who would flirt with her and turn her into a red stuttering mess, but the rare times she could get a line that made him blush were moments when she felt really satisfied. 

__________  
Everything was going great until they got noticed.”YO!” Ren heard a loud voice behind them. He looked over his shoulder and saw Ryuji. “Wassup RenRen?” The blonde jogged up to them. _Dammit Ryuji!_

“How’s things Ryuji?” The boys fistbumped. Ryuji took notice of the couples' joined hands. He smirked. 

“Pretty good, but I can see things are goin’ better for you.” He crossed his arms. Makoto instantly reddened.

“Oh! Ryuji! So Ren and I- you see we-” She started stuttering and looking around, brushing her hair behind her ear. _God, she’s so cute when she does that_

“We’re dating.” Ren pulled his hand out of hers and moved it around her waist, pulling her close. Regaining her composure, Makoto straightened. 

“Y-Yes. We’re a couple now.” She had a bashful smile across her face. 

“Took you long enough.” Ryuji said. “Me and Ann had a bet to see when you guys would get together, she said you’d start dating while we waited for Futaba to wake up, but I said sometime in September.” He sighed with a downcast look. “Guess I lost.” 

“And how are things going between you two?” Ren smugly asked. Ryuji immediately blushed and grimaced. 

“Shuddup! I’m still workin on it!” He defended. 

“Oh, so you and Ann.. You know, I can see it.” Makoto put her hand to her chin. They all looked at each other before breaking out into laughter. “It’s good to see you Ryuji. I hope this doesn’t make things weird between the group.” Ryuji shook his head.

“Nah. We already thought of you two as the Team Mom and Dad.” The couple blushed at this comment. “From him showing off in palaces, and your constant banter, we knew that you two liked each other. I’m just surprised you guys didn’t know.” Ryuji’s phone rang. Checking it his face lit up. “I gotta go, Ann wants me to come with her to see Shiho.” 

“Have fun dude.” Ren gave him another fist bump. Ryuji took off towards the station. Ren sighed and turned to Makoto. “Sorry about that.” 

“It’s no problem, now let’s go to the arcade.” She grinned and held up her hand making a gun out of her fingers. If we weren’t in public I would kiss her. He grabbed her finger gun hand, and began pulling her towards the arcade. “W-Wait Ren!” They disappeared as a figure in the crowd of Shibuya watched them.

_________  
Iwai strutted into a back alley in Shinjuku. Hands in his coat pockets, he looked down the cramped space only lit up by the evening sky and the surrounding neon and saw a figure. The figure approached, wearing a black suit with a dark purple button up shirt, but the top buttons were unbuttoned. His slicked back hair went nicely with his tan skin. 

“Akihiro.” Iwai shook the man’s hand. “It’s been a while.” 

“Yeah. Wanna tell me what that message was about?” Akihiro’s low and deep voice interrupted the evening noise of the red light district.

“You’ve heard of a certain club host named Tsukasa?” Iwai asked, Akihiro responded with a nod.

“Yeah, my buddy told me he broke another bottle of sake at work, and is getting some chick of his to pay for it.” Akihiro crossed his arms. “What of him?”

“Well someone that works with me says that he was going after two teenagers and he had a lot of muscle behind him to track them. Do you know anyone that would work with him?” 

“Not really…” Akihiro contemplated for a moment. “Although, last night one of my acquaintances was talking about a side job he got where he was getting paid a lot to tail this one tall four-eyes kid and his girl. Said he was told to ‘make them feel sorry’ by today. This guy takes any job that he gets. Feel bad for those kids, lately that guy has been ruthless.”

“What?!” Iwai rushed forward grabbing at Akihiros' lapels.“Where is this guy?”

“I don’t know!” Akihiro put his hands in the air. “He was just spoutin’ bullshit when we were drinking last night.”

“Can you at least give me a name?” Iwai tightened his grip.

“Yeah.” Akihiro lowered his hands and sighed. “Takaki Shiro.” Iwai let go and moved back, pulling out his phone. 

“Thanks a lot Aki. Sorry I roughed you up.” Akihiro shook his head as Iwai typed out a message.

“It’s nothing. I owe you a lot more than some random dude’s name.” He turned around walking back into the darkness of the alley.

“Can you do me one more favor?” Iwai asked, putting his phone away. Akihiro looked back. “Make sure that no one ever works with that Tsukasa again.” 

“I’ll try my best.” Akihiro said as he disappeared into the alley.

Iwai looked down at his phone. “Please kid. Be okay.”

_______________  
Ren was more than okay with the fact that his cute girlfriend was now on her 12th try to get a Buchimaru plush that she saw in a claw game in the corner of the arcade. After spending a long time playing Gun About and some motorcycle racing game, they tried the claw game. She had a really cute frustrated look on her face trying to free the plush toy from its glass prison. She furrowed her brows, getting slightly angrier each time the panda would slip out of the claws grasp. Suddenly he felt his phone buzz. He moved away from the machine to check it. 

_Iwai: Watch out, Tsukasa hired someone to follow you, he’s gonna make a move today. His name is Takaki Shiro._

Ren looked around the cramped arcade with his third eye. Most of it was filled with students his age and some younger kids, but at one of the machines near the entrance, a man in a grey suit was discreetly glancing in his direction. He saw something that looked like a knife handle peeking out of his pants pocket. _Oh shit._

“Got it!” Makoto proudly cheered, shaking Ren out of his thinking. She bent down and picked up the plush panda, presenting it to Ren. “Look Ren! It’s Buchi-kun!” Thinking on instinct, Ren grabbed one of her hands and pulled her towards the exit.

“We need to go.” 

“R-Ren?” Makoto looked startled, but followed nonetheless. As they exited the arcade he looked over his shoulder and surely enough the man in the suit was following them. _If I can get to the station, we can hopefully go to Mementos and change his heart._ “What’s going on Ren?”

“I’ll tell you soon. Just follow my lead.” He quickened his pace, almost running. The sunset would be nice to look at if he wasn’t scared for his life right now. Finally they arrived at Shibuya Station and Ren began the navigation into Mementos.   
______________  
Makoto stood in the dark hallway catching her breath. They were now in their Metaverse clothes, which meant they were in Mementos. “What was that about? Why are we in Mementos?” Her boyfriend abruptly pulled them out of the Arcade and rushed them to Mementos, and in the process she almost dropped her new buchimaru plush.

“We were being followed by someone working with Tsukasa.” He sighed, giving a stern look under his mask. She felt her heart begin to accelerate. _We were followed? For how long?_ “Don’t worry, I think we can change his heart. Iwai gave me his name.” 

“How do we know that he will be here?” Makoto asked, taking in the eerie darkness before them.

“We won’t.” Ren looked down, forming a fist by his side. “But we have to try.” She walked forward, taking his fist in her hands and kissing his knuckles.

“It’s ok, We got this.” She said reassuringly. “Now how’re we going to get around Mementos? We can’t risk going out there and contacting the team.” They stood there, thinking and pondering, before Ren pointed to his mask.

“Johanna.” He said with a smile. “We’ll use your persona!” _Would that even work?_

“Wait, I’ve never tried to carry someone else on her, I don’t know if it will work!” She rebutted. Ren shook his head.

“If it can carry you, it can probably handle me too.” He replied. It made sense, if a persona could carry one person, what’s to say it can’t carry multiple people. They barely understood the powers and forces they commanded too.

“Ok, but if you fall and hurt yourself, I’m not healing you. I need to save my strength for our target.” She said as they walked down the escalator. The dark area of Qimranut laid before them, some large shadows walked around far away from where they stood. They jumped down onto the tracks.

“Here goes.” She took a deep breath, grasping the corner of her mask. “Johanna!” The loud roaring of an engine filled the cavern, and she felt the seat of her bike appear under her. She grasped the handles and revved the engine. Something about her persona felt different but she didn’t care, there were bigger things to worry about. “Alright! Hop on.” 

Ren looked nervous, but obliged. Lifting his leg over the body of the vehicle, he straddled the motorcycle.   
“Ok grab onto my waist.” Makoto instructed. She looked back and saw him lightly place his hands on her waist. She looked forward and revved the engine. “Here we go!” She suddenly felt Ren’s arms wrap around her waist, holding her tight. His chest pressed against her back and the feeling of his breath against the back of her head was too much. Her cheeks burnt red. She hoped the darkness of their surroundings would hide her blush. 

“Is this right?” Ren said as he put his cheek against her back. Laying into her as she leaned forward. 

“Y-Yes.” She revved the engine one last time before launching into the area.   
_______  
They managed to not encounter too many shadows, which was for the best, seeing as how they were alone without any backup. Checking each area ahead of them they eventually found a distorted entrance in a level on the path of Chemdah. 

“That’s probably it.” Makoto said as she slowed the bike to a stop. She looked back at Ren, who still had his arms wrapped around her. 

“Let’s get this bastard.” He simply said, his eyes glittering with rebellious fire. Makoto nodded and they drove into the portal. 

On the other end they saw a man in the distance, wearing an extravagant red suit and a grey shirt that was buttoned really low. Ren ran to the man.

“Are you Takaki Shiro?” He stood ready as Makoto walked up next to him. 

“Yes that’s me! You’ve heard of me? I’m trying to build my rep so I can get better jobs!” The shadow replied. 

“Do you take any job?” Ren pulled out his dagger. 

“Yes. Any job, are you interested in my services? I do various things from assasination to kidnapping and torture.” The shadow rubbed his hands together.

“I don’t think you’ll get any more jobs like this. People won’t see you as a professional. They’ll see you as desperate.” Makoto chimed in, her gloves drawn.

“What’d you say bitch?! I’ll kill you!” He said as he screamed and transformed into a tall grey masked figure with long flowing red hair. It held a sharp sword and slashed in their direction. “You’re dead!”

“Get ready!” Makoto took a fighting stance and they rushed forward. 

The shadow slashed downward as Ren dodged and summoned a ball of fire to hit the demon. It bounced off and hit Ren instead. 

“Gah!” He dashed back and pulled out his dagger, running back into the fray. The shadow sliced in front of Makoto, who ducked under the shadows attack and struck the shadow multiple times, although that only looked to annoy it and it looked down at her and punched, she rolled, narrowly escaping it’s attack. Ren pulled out his next persona, a monkey reading an ancient tome. _Thoth. Thats one of his newer ones._ “Megido!” he said as he summoned beams of light to hit the target. The shadow staggered after getting hit by the magical power. 

The shadow jumped back, preparing a spell. A voodoo doll appeared in front of Ren. 

“Joker!” Makoto called out to him and rushed towards him. Nails impaled the voodoo doll as Ren fell towards the floor. She picked up his body, using her best healing spell. 

“No one stands in my way! I’ll be the most famous gangster in all of Tokyo!” The shadow stood over them. _I’m gonna die! It’s gonna kill me!_ She grabbed her gun at her waist with her free hand and pulled it out pointing it at the monster as she shuffled back carrying Ren’s limp body with her. Makoto remembered the moment when Ren and her were sitting on her bed. She remembered how they comforted each other and told each other how safe they felt. _I can’t die. I’ve got to keep you safe._ She fired a shot without thinking.

As the bullet hit, the shadow stepped back. shocked. It held its head and screamed. 

“NONONO! Don’t kill me!!” It fell to the ground. “Show mercy!” 

Makoto stared at her gun. It was the Remington that they bought at the shop. She pointed it at the shadow, but it wasn’t staring at her. It was staring at something behind her. She turned her head and saw a bulky silver and black metal body with sharp golden fingers and shoes. Adorning the top of the body, a garnet red head with golden horns. It’s name appeared in her mind. _Anat_ The energy emitting from it empowered her.

She turned back to her foe and pointed her gun at it. “Die, scum.” Firing the other 4 rounds into the shadow. It burst into ash and disappeared, the man from before taking its place. Makoto gently layed Ren down on the floor advancing on the man.

“I’m sorry, please don’t kill me. I’m just trying to make it in the tokyo underground.” He pleaded. 

“Raise your standards for a job and turn yourself in.” Makoto sternly told the shadow. 

“Yeah ok. Maybe I should.” The shadow disappeared and in its place a shining object. Makoto grabbed it, it was a card with the words ‘Mudoon.’ She put the card away and rushed back to Ren.

“Ren wake up!” She held him, shaking him slightly. Putting her ear to his chest she didn’t hear anything. “No no no please. Don’t do this to me.” Tears slipped out of her eyes, down her mask and onto his body. She searched their stash of consumable items until pulling out what she was looking for. A small bottle of medicine from Takemis clinic that supposedly had reviving capabilities. She poured the Revivadrin into Ren’s mouth. “Please, you have to keep living. Don’t leave me alone.” Ren gasped and his eyes flew open. He let out a few coughs before looking into his girlfriend’s watering eyes. He sat up, cupping her cheek. 

“Why’re you crying?” He asked. She furrowed her brows and wrapped her arms around his neck, almost shoving him down.

“Because of you, you dumbass.” Makoto sighed into his shoulder, letting more tears flow. Ren ran his fingers through her hair.

“I’m guessing you kicked the shadow’s ass?” 

“Yeah, but I was more worried about you. That Mudo skill came out of nowhere.” 

“Hey we’re safe that’s what matters.” Ren looked around. “As safe as we can be in an area surrounded by monsters and various shadows.” Makoto chuckled, sniffling. “We should probably move.” 

“No. Just a little longer.” She said, tightening her grip on him. 

“Okay.”   
_________  
They eventually left the dark and dreary atmosphere of Mementos and traded it for the night in Shibuya Station. They sat next to each other not talking, waiting for Makoto’s train, exhausted from the impromptu journey they just had. Ren looked down, staring into nothing. Makoto gripped his hand, reminding him she was there. She pulled out her phone with her free hand. Multiple notifications appeared during their time in mementos, several from Ann.

_Ann: ASDKEHAJEIF_   
_Ann: WHEN WERE YOU GOING TO TELL ME???!?_   
_Ann: OHMIGOSH_   
_Ann: YOU GUYS ARE DATING!!!! FINALLLYYYY_

Makoto showed the phone to Ren, who snickered at the messages. “I’m guessing Ryuji told her. Not surprising at all.” She sighed.

_Makoto: Yes. Tell Ryuji that he should try to keep his mouth shut._  
 _Makoto: Or maybe you’d like to keep his mouth busy?_  
…  
 _Ann: :flushed:_  
Just as she was about to check her other texts, her train arrived. She put her phone back in her bag and they boarded the train together. 

The train ride and the walk to her apartment were uneventful as they didn’t have much to talk about. As they faced each other in front of her apartment door, they held hands, preparing to say goodbye for the night. Yet, Makoto wanted to stay with Ren for a little while longer, something in her heart had her yearning for a little more of his touch. It’d been such a long day but she didn’t want it to end here. 

“R-Ren, I was wondering, if you maybe wanted to come in for a bit?” She said hoping that he would understand what she was implying. He grinned, before opening the door for her and letting her in. The feeling was different now then the last time they were at this position. There was a tension between them which was about to reach its summit as the door shut behind them. 

“So, what’s up?” Ren asked. Makoto grabbed both of his hands in hers.

“I want to be with you…” She walked closer to him, inches away from his face. She lifted their connected hands. “Please.” 

“Of course, Queen.” Ren smiled and met her lips with his. Their hands separated, seeking to touch each other instead, his resting on her hips, and hers clinging to his chest.In a battle of tongues they lost track of where they were and somehow, they ended up on the couch in the living room. Ren leaned back as Makoto once again took charge this time fully straddling him, like the motorcycle she rode so well. Mewls of pleasure escaped them as they separated. They paid no attention to anything else except each other. Makoto moved her head to his neck, kissing the flesh there, which elicited a whimper from Ren. He dug his hands into her hair, pulling it tenderly, which gave her some pleasure, releasing a moan into his neck. Her hands roved downwards from his chest to the hem of his shirt. She pushed it up, sucking on the skin of his neck _He’s mine, no one else's._ She felt his abs which were firm as a rock as his other hand moved up and down her thigh. 

“What the _hell_?!” A deep but feminine voice cut their moment short. They both looked up to see the glaring eyes of Sae Niijima.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOHHHH cliffhanger!  
> This one took a little longer than I wanted it too, but I'm glad I got it out. There's gonna be one more chapter and it'll probably be a little shorter than this one. Thanks for supporting this and have a good week!


	3. Chapter 3

Ren had seen a lot of terrifying things in his life since he came to Tokyo. He’d seen mythical beings brought to life, terrible monsters with powers unknown, but none came close to the glare he was receiving from prosecutor Sae Niijima. His hand still laid on Makoto’s thigh, but his eyes showed fear, and Makoto didn’t look any better. They separated, Ren smoothing down his shirt and standing up. 

“Niijima-san! Sorry to intrude!” He bowed. _I am going to die here. This is it._ She paid no attention to him, instead staring at her sister, still sitting on the couch, looking away. 

“Makoto, what is this _criminal_ doing in our apartment?” Sae yelled. “And what were you doing with him!?”

“ _Ren_ is my boyfriend, sis.” Makoto replied. “And he is not a criminal.” 

“You don’t have time to focus on crap like boyfriends Makoto. How come this is the first I’m hearing of this?” Sae asked. “You should know better than to bother with people like him.”

“You’re always busy with work, so I thought this wouldn’t be important enough for you to worry about, and I knew you were gonna react like this.” Makoto stood up and stared at her sister. “And can you please stop calling him a criminal!” Ren wanted to grab her hand but knew that wouldn’t help them at all with their situation. She was damaging her own relationship with her sister to keep their own. 

“Have you heard of what he did?! He assaulted a couple!” Sae swung her arm in front of her. Ren balled his fist. “I don’t expect a useless leech like you to understand the intricacies of the real world.”

“That man was taking advantage of the girl! Ren was trying to save her!” Makoto stomped her foot, ignoring her sister's insult. They stood there silently, staring each other down. 

“Can you please leave? I don’t want you intruding on family business.” Sae looked at Ren, still with a scowl on her face. He looked at Makoto who nodded. Grabbing his stuff, he walked to the door, noticing both sisters were looking at him, one with a reassuring smile and the other with a glare. He exited and headed to his train, not before texting Makoto. 

_Text me back as soon as you can._  
__________

It was late at night and Ren was about to go to bed when he finally got a text from Makoto. 

_Makoto: I’m sorry that my sister yelled at you like that. She had no right._  
 _It’s ok, I’ve been called worse. Are you ok? How did things go after I left?_ Makoto: We argued for a while, but I finally got her to hear me out.   
_That’s good. I hope me and her can talk._  
 _Makoto: I hope so too._  
 _Makoto: I’m really tired, but I’ll talk to you more about this tomorrow._  
 _Ok, please get rest._

Ren sighed, laying down on his bed. Morgana perked up.

“What’s on your mind?” The cat asked. “I bet it’s a certain student council president~”

“Her sister actually. I met her today, and not in the circumstances that I wanted to, and she yelled at us.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“How so?” 

“W-Well, Makoto and I were in the middle of doing some ‘studying’, when she walked in on us.” Ren scratched his cheek as the cat looked in horror.

“No wonder! I would’ve killed you if I caught you making out with my sister!” He rolled his eyes.

“I think she was more offended by me being there than me making out with her. Like she actually thought I was scum.” Ren pondered. 

“I don’t think it's like that. I think she hasn’t gotten a chance to know you.” Morgana curled up at the foot of the bed. “You should try talking to her, maybe you would get to know each other better.” 

“Alright…”

________

Makoto sat at her table in her apartment, studying intently, when she heard a knock on the door. She opened the door to see her boyfriend. 

“Thanks for coming.” She said, giving him a quick kiss. As Ren walked in he looked around nervously. 

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here? I don’t want your sister to get angry again.” He put his bag down on the table, sitting down. 

“When she comes home and sees you studying, she’s gonna be able to see you in a new light. Hopefully, you can tell her your side of the story.” She grabbed his hand. 

“Ok, but if she kills me, I’m gonna haunt you Mako.” He joked. 

“I’m not that scared of ghosts anymore, Renren.” She retorted, smiling when she saw his blush. 

“T-That’s not what it looked like when we went to Sojiro’s house that first time.” He coyly teased. 

“Focus on your studying, _Joker._ ” They focused on studying.

Soon enough the older sister came home, not noticing Ren. “Makoto I was hoping we could ta-” She put her bag on the kitchen counter. Ren looked up from his notes, noticing she was staring at him.

“Hello Niijima-san. Pardon my intrusion.” He looked back down and continued studying. 

“What are you doing in my house again?” 

“Helping your sister study.” Ren replied. “She asked me to.”

“Is that what you were doing last night? Studying?” Sae crossed her arms and stared her opponent down. 

“Sis!” Makoto stood up. “I’m going to make dinner for the three of us. I want you two to talk and sort some things out.” 

“Makoto, I’m bus-”

“ **No.** You are going to sit in my spot and talk with him.” Ren and Sae stared at her. “Now.” She calmly but sternly walked into the kitchen. Sae walked to the table but stayed staring at Ren. He stood up and offered his hand.

“Hello, I’m Ren Amamiya, I’m a second year at Shujin Academy. We may have met at Leblanc since I’m working and staying there.” He said. Sae gripped his hand, with a little more force than was needed. 

“I know, I’ve looked over your file.” They sat down and Sae glanced at the papers and books before her. She paid attention to Ren’s work. Looking it over she noticed that all the answers and notes were very good and resembled her sisters. “I can also see that you’re very studious.”

“Yes, I got the top score on my last exams, and that’s partially because of your sister.” Ren smiled. 

“That’s good. I’m guessing that’s how you started dating?” 

“No, we met because of some mutual friends.” Ren explained. “She felt disconnected from her peers so she asked me if I could help her expand her horizons in order to relate with her fellow students more. So we did some activities.”

“Oh is that so? What sort of activities did you guys do?” Sae leaned back in her chair crossing her arms. 

“We went to the arcade, the movie theater, an amusement park, and a really good ramen place.” 

“Uh-huh. I’d like to hear about the circumstances that brought you to Tokyo.” She stared him down. “Specifically your side of the story when it comes to your case. I’ll be able to tell if you’re lying.” 

“Okay.” Ren took a deep breath. “I was walking home one day late at night.….”  
________  
He managed to tell her everything. From the night he was arrested, to the day he first stepped into Shibuya. Sae looked down and placed her hand on her chin, pondering his words. 

“Either you’re a really good liar, or..” She spoke quietly. 

“Or I was wrongfully accused.” Ren said. She nodded.

“I’ll choose to remain impartial until the truth is revealed.” At that moment Makoto came in with some chicken katsu.

“Ren, can you clear the table please?” Makoto said, putting the dish on the table. He stood up, gathering their study materials. 

“Of course.” He put all the materials away and sat back down.

“I’m guessing you guys talked?” She looked at them with suspicious eyes.

“Yes. We talked about your relationship with each other, and his case.” Sae said. Makoto’s eyes lit up.

“Really?” She looked excited. “Then does tha-” Sae put her hand up to silence Makoto.

“No, it does not mean I trust him entirely.” She sighed. “But I understand what it’s like to be a teenager, so you guys can date if you want to.” Both teens looked at each other smiling. 

“Well then, let’s dig in. This looks amazing Makoto.” Ren said, grabbing his chopsticks. Makoto blushed before Sae grabbed his hand tightly as he grabbed the utensil. He looked up into eyes that stared into his soul.

“One more thing Amamiya. If I catch you doing anything like what you guys were doing last night with my little sister, they won’t be able to find your body.” He sat there like a deer in headlights. Something in her voice told him she wasn’t joking. She gripped tighter, making him drop the sticks. “Got it?”

“Y-Yes, Niijima-san.” He stuttered. She released his hand, before doing something that surprised both Makoto and Ren. Sae smiled. 

“Alright let’s eat!” She said excitedly, clapping her hands together. Although something about the smile seemed off. It almost seemed like she was faking it, but the teens chose not to press.

The three of them ate, talking about school and work, and Ren and Sae finding a common topic about a certain ace detective. They eventually finished, all satisfied with the full meal.

“Thank you Makoto, that was delicious, one of these days I gotta make curry for you.” Ren said picking up the dishes. 

“Sounds like a plan.” She blushed, handing him her plate. 

“You don’t have to do the dishes Amamiya.” Sae spoke up. 

“It’s my pleasure, I’m a guest here.” He replied with a smile. 

“Huh.”

Makoto sat down next to Sae.

“So what do you think?” She asked her older sister.

“I think I may have been too harsh, to you and him.” Sae commented. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean the things I said last night. I’ve been stressed at work, and I guess I kinda took it out on you two.”

“Oh sis.” Makoto teared up and gave her sister a hug. Sae took a moment before reciprocating the hug. It had been a while since the sisters had gotten to connect like this. They stayed there for a couple seconds while Ren finished up with the dishes. 

“We should go see a movie or go to a spa together, when I’m less busy with work.” Sae sighed into her sister’s hair. Makoto nodded and they separated.“And if Amamiya ever gives you any trouble, call me and I’ll beat him into a pulp.” 

“S-Sis!” Makoto gasped. “He would never do that. If anything, I’m the one causing trouble.” She looked content, at peace. 

Ren finished the dishes and checked his phone, sighing at his notifications. Many confidants had asked him to come and help them, but he got an urgent request from a certain bartender. 

“I’m sorry Makoto, I’ve gotta go to work, Lala-chan wants my help.” He picked up his bag and headed to the door. 

“Wait, Ren!” Makoto got up and ran to her boyfriend, planting a kiss on his cheek, which caused Sae to raise an eyebrow in skepticism. “Text me later.” 

“You’ve got it dude.” Ren said with a blush, giving her a thumbs up before walking out of the apartment. Makoto stood there and sighed.

“‘You’ve got it dude?’ What’s that supposed to mean?” Sae said, standing behind Makoto with her arms crossed. 

“I-I’ve heard him say it with the boys in our friend group sometimes, It’s supposed to be encouraging.” She explained, blushing. 

“And these boys, should I worry about them?” Sae questioned. Makoto chuckled and shook her head. 

“Not really my type.” 

“What is your type then?”

“Someone who cares for others. Someone with a strong sense of justice, someone who makes me feel safe, and someone who works hard for what they believe.” She looked down, clasping her hands to her chest. “Someone like him.” 

Noticing how much Makoto cared for this boy, Sae decided not to interfere in their relationship from this point forward. Who was she to intrude on something that made her sister happy? Happier than she’d ever seen her before.

Sae turned and headed to her room. “I’m sorry Makoto.” She sighed under her breath. Her sister was so much more mature than she was months ago. She was a fully grown woman. She held her head high most times, and she was smiling a lot more. Was that because of this boy? 

The boy she read about in the report set her expectations that he was a typical boy next door turned criminal. That was not this boy at all. He was kind to both Sae and her sister, he had shown respect, even when she insulted him and his lover. He also believed that his side of the story was true, without a shadow of a doubt. Sae shook these thoughts from her head as she prepared for bed. “Just need to work harder.” She sighed. “Then I can succeed, and care for Makoto more.”

___________  
It had been a couple days since Ren went to the Niijima’s apartment, but now he was sitting in Leblanc’s attic, making infiltration tools with Morgana as it rained outside.   
The rain grew in intensity, and Ren could hear the faintest clap of thunder. Suddenly, a thought came to him. _I should call her to see if she’s okay._

“Hey Morgana, I’m gonna call Makoto, you don’t have to be here if you don’t want to. Don’t want our ‘cheesiness’ to mess up your night.” He teased at the cat as he dialed his girlfriend's number.

“Nah, it's fine. You guys aren’t gonna be _that_ annoying right?” Morgana said, curling up at his spot on the desk. 

“Depends.” Ren hit call and turned on the speaker. Two short dial tones later and Makoto picked up.

“ _What’s up Ren?_ ” 

“I just wanted to check in on you, see if you’re doing alright.” He said, cutting a piece of silk.

“ _O-Oh, you didn’t have to do that._ ”

“I wanted to, for my Queen.” He jested. Morgana rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“ _Thanks. I was feeling a little scared as the storm picked up, but now that you’re here, I feel fine._ ” 

“I’m glad to have helped you Mako.” Ren joked one more time before the cat scowled at him.

“ _Do you seriously have to tease me with your nicknames?_ ” 

“I don’t _have_ to, but I want to.” He picked up some of his tin clasps. “And it sounds like you rather enjoy them.” 

“ _Then by all means, Renren._ ” She coyly replied. Ren blushed. Morgana laughed, rolling on his back.

“Renren?!!” The cat’s laugh reverberated through the attic. “That’s so silly! I’m gonna call you that from now on!” 

Both teens responded with a stern “No.”

“ _Only Ryuji and I get to call him that._ ” 

“Aww, that bonehead?” The cat looked away.

“Anyway, Makoto, how are things with your sister?” Ren asked, changing the subject from his nickname. 

“ _Weirdly enough, she hasn’t been home a lot since you came over. Said something about needing to work hard on the phantom thieves case, but she’s been nicer to me since you guys talked._ ”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Ren looked at his finished lockpick, one of his best yet. 

“ _Oh! I almost forgot to ask! Did Iwai manage to do something about Tsukasa?_ ”

“Yeah, he texted me after we got back from Mementos his friend made sure that he won’t be able to get anyone to work with him. Which should help us.” 

“ _That’s a relief. I kinda wish I could ride on Johanna more through Mementos. Riding with you was fun._ ”

“Wait, wait wait. You guys went to Mementos alone?” Morgana sternly asked.

“Yeah? What’s the problem with that?” Ren raised his eyebrow.

“It’s dangerous! Without the proper backup, you could die! Or worse!” Morgana explained.

“ _Ren almost did die. I had to revive him._ ” 

“Makoto! Why’d you tell him?” 

“ _Because, I want him to know that I managed to beat a tough shadow by myself._ ”

“You did not. I got a good Megido and an ok Agilao on him.” Ren defended. 

“ _I wouldn’t consider the enemy reflecting your attack ‘ok.’_ ”

“Shut up!” Morgana yowled. “No one died. That’s good. Just next time you guys want to go to Mementos, tell us first.”

Both teens stayed silent. Morgana stood up and sighed. He jumped off the desk and headed towards the stairs. “I’m gonna take a nap downstairs. Please don’t be too noisy.”

They kept quiet for just a bit longer until Makoto sighed. “ _He can be annoying sometimes._

“Yeah.” 

“ _Thank you again Ren, for keeping me company, and being there for me._ ”

“Any chance I get to talk to you is a delight. Thank you for always having my back, I don’t know where I’d be if I hadn’t met you.” He got up from the desk, picked up his phone, and fell onto his bed.

“ _Ren I wanted to say that I-I… I uh.._ ” 

“What?”

Makoto took a deep breath.

“ _I-I love you._ ”

Ren’s mouth hung open. He never felt anything like this before, his brain still processing the words he heard from his girlfriend, it made his heart beat at a dangerous pace. 

“ _Ren?_ ” 

“I love you too Makoto.”

“ _Oh,_ ” They remained there, silent, only pondering the words both of them spoke. The storm outside intensified. Thunder snapped which caused Makoto to whimper at the other end.

“Don’t worry, I’ll stay on the line for as long as you want me to.”

“ _T-thanks Ren._ ” They stayed there throughout the night, and for the first time in a while, Makoto felt safe, and was no longer scared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for supporting this Fic! I'm glad that my first Fanfic ever was well received. Thank you and have a beautiful Sunday!


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